PlGF, immune system and hypertension

The huge diffusion of hypertension and its associated complications has a significant impact on public health [1]. However, despite the high prevalence of essential hypertension and many efforts of research, the basic pathophysiological causes remain puzzling. Although in the simplest way, the determinants of blood pressure (BP) are approximated by physical laws for fluid dynamics, these components of BP and their interactions have been intensely examined for years, without untangling the core of the problem. A more recent field of studies in hypertension has begun to shed light on a previously unpredictable role of the immune system in regulating BP [2]. Nevertheless, even though it is now recognized that T cell response drives hypertension, the key immune pathways contributing to BP elevation are still unidentified.